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bellaitalia
Oct 9, 2006, 8:52 PM
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Ciao ladies,
After attemping (and failing) to rack all my trad gear on my harness on several climbs, I finally broke down and used my friend's gear sling. It drove me nuts the whole climb, since it hung down very low, even when it was tighted as much as possible. So I'm hoping that you could share your wisdom with me....
Do you climb trad with a gear sling? If so, do you have any good recommendations for short women? I'm only 5'1". If not, what's the secret to cramming all that gear on one harness.
Thanks!
Sarah
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iamthewallress
Oct 9, 2006, 9:49 PM
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The Metolius gear slings are very long even when fully cinched, and I hate the buckle anyway. I believe that my gear sling was made by Climb High. It was definately some ancient clearance type of thing that I picked up at the Wildnerness Exchange, so I'm not sure that you'd be able to find one of those new anywhere. You could probably ask FISH to sew you one that's more tailored for your size. I liked the length of my Fish sling (with crazy animal-inspired fabric) but it wasn't padded, so I didn't think it was as comfortable as my Climb High sling.
Edit...re: using sling vs. racking on harness. For any climb where you need to fit your butt into the climb, use your back against a wall, or be squished in a corner where reaching the side of your harness will be tricky, the gear sling can make things so much easier. I like racking on my harness for straight in cracks and face climbs. For lower angle climbing where you're bent over, the rack can get in your way more on the sling.
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heiko
Oct 10, 2006, 8:34 AM
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Just to add that she was in fact using my Metolius Double D Multi-Loop sling, and it was really useless on her.
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kimmyt
Oct 10, 2006, 1:39 PM
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I can't help you here, but I definitely sympathize. When I rack on my harness (which is probably more of a sport harness anyway, with smaller gear loops) I always feel like the weight of gear is going to pull it off me, even when I make sure to have the harness cinched it's tightest up above my hipbones. I rock an oldschool Chouinard shoulder sling, it's not adjustable and is labelled only size M (an old friend gave it to me since it didn't fit her). It is really small, and fits great over my narrow shoulders, but woebetide anyone I climb with who wants to use my sling, because it usually doesn't fit. If you find a gear sling that has loops on it and fits you well, please post the info here because I have been looking for a sling that will allow me to seperate my gear since this one does not have any loops and my gear gets tangled at times.
K.
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iamthewallress
Oct 10, 2006, 10:26 PM
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Kimmy...I thought I'd like a multiloop sling, but I HATED mine after I got it. A single loop, even if it does have drawbacks, lets you swing all of your gear out of the way or into your view for peice selection in one swift heave. Your peices will still tangle on the multiloop.
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mountain_racer
Oct 10, 2006, 11:18 PM
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Just passing through ladies, but, one of my climbing partners is barely 5'3" and she has thought of using the Zodiac Gear Sling. Has anyone other ladies, small of stature tried this? I was concerned about the sternum strap but that might be adjustable.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...ct.php?p=1592&list=1
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iamthewallress
Oct 10, 2006, 11:36 PM
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My sense of that one is that it's too minimal for a wall chest harness, but too jazzed up for a free climbing gear sling.
One of the things that's nice about a single loop shoulder sling is that you can slip it and its cargo off of one shoulder and onto the other while in the middle of a lead...and important thing to do when you need to switch from cramming one side of your body into a corner/feature/chimeny to doing the same with the other.
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kimmyt
Oct 11, 2006, 1:39 AM
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In reply to: Kimmy...I thought I'd like a multiloop sling, but I HATED mine after I got it. A single loop, even if it does have drawbacks, lets you swing all of your gear out of the way or into your view for peice selection in one swift heave. Your peices will still tangle on the multiloop.
Yeah, I've thought of that too... I used a friend's multiloop once when we were switching leads and I just found it odd. But I thought maybe that was because it was too big. The thing is, I've got a gear sling, so why spend the money? I guess if someone had posted some fantastic raves on a specific model or something I would have shelled out, but I guess for now what I have suffices.
Also, looked at that picture, and I doubt I'd use it for anything with just a few pitches. It might work, but I'd feel like a doofus in it, no offense to anyone that climbs in it for plain ole multipitch stuff. :)
K.
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lhwang
Oct 11, 2006, 2:20 PM
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Kimmy, not sure what your gear sling is made of but you could probably make your own gear loops out of the tubing for those camelbaks and webbing. That's how I added gear loops to the waist strap of my big pack. Just make sure the loops are secure.
I don't think I'd be able to climb with a single loop. Maybe I just have too much gear.
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macherry
Oct 11, 2006, 3:04 PM
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hmmm, i just got a metolius gear sling for almost nothing at Rei. haven't had a chance to use it, but the fit seems good. i have a long body.
if i don't like it, i just spent 7 bucks to keep my gear together in my pack
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amylovesred
Oct 11, 2006, 3:46 PM
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i totally prefer racking on my harness over a gear sling... (but i've only used a sling once, climbing slab, and i didn't like the way everything hung in front of me.)
if your gear doesn't fit -- how many loops do you have on your harness?
my BF racks with ovals and i like his system... on each oval he has 4 cams or 5 nuts or more than 5 hexs or 4 slings etc and i think it works out to about 4 ovals on each gear loop?
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crackboy
Oct 11, 2006, 6:23 PM
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i have a wildthings gear sling, it adjusts pretty well, and is decently padded
it might work out, i am not the biggest person out there
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crackboy
Oct 11, 2006, 6:23 PM
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i have a wildthings gear sling, it adjusts pretty well, and is decently padded
it might work out, i am not the biggest person out there
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valygrl
Oct 11, 2006, 6:48 PM
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Hmm, I'm 5'2" and have the loopy metolius sling, it buckles up small enough for me if I take it in all the way. You can also pick some stiches out of (or cut) the padded part to make it possible to pull it tighter. I personally like the loops, but I think I might be the only one. I just slide the whole thing back if it gets in my way, and find that less gear slides in front of me than with the nonloopy one.
I always carry too much gear to rack on my harness. :oops:
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the_climber
Oct 12, 2006, 10:48 PM
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I was searching for this article Homemade Double Gearsling with Loops to send the link to a friend, but stumbled on this thread. The design looks like it would be easy to make a single gear sling. So there it is (hope it helps) and I'm off to email it to others.
Ciao
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booger
Oct 13, 2006, 8:03 AM
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Sarah,
I think a big part of (our) problem here is: having a short torso combined with the totally crap-for-trad-women
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/...A280_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The harness rides directly on the hips, making a long day with heavy gear painful. And the damn gear 'loops' (tiny triangles) fit like 5 pieces of gear each.
Bottom line - not surprisingly, a sling tends to create the need to sling gear around, front to back - and as many have mentioned, it's total crap if you're short because it's always at your knees or your feet when you're making a move. Not to mention they're total boobie-smashers. I'm just not willing to coordinate my torso for gear while I'm trying to coordinate the rest of me for climbing. I think a new harness is in order - one with bigger gear loops, and one that is comfortable.
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heiko
Oct 13, 2006, 10:46 AM
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boogah,
gear hanging from your gear loops will always hang lower than from a sling I'd assume... if you choose a harness that doesn't sit on the hips but lower, your Aliens will definitely hang down to your knees.
I agree about swinging around the sling however, it is annoying. Plus, when climbing with a camelbak, the gearsling isn't getting any comfier... (even without b**bs...)
h.
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crackrn
Oct 16, 2006, 4:50 AM
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So I'm not the only one who hates those useless gear loops on my harness! Really wish I had known how annoying they were going to be before I bought it. Oh well.
I have a friend who uses the chest harness and loves it but I think I'd be annoyed at not being able to move gear out of my way if I was in a chimney or if I was off balance.
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tavs
Oct 17, 2006, 5:17 PM
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I have just never been able to get used to a gear sling (though I do use one occasionally for chimneys/etc)--just feels like it always moves around when I don't want it to, etc. So, some suggestions for if/when you do want to rack a substantial amount of gear on your harness.....I've never been in the habit of racking multiple cams on one biner (since more often than not I find myself clipping directly into the cam rather than needing to add a draw). But one trick I've learned for desert crack climbing--when carrying multiple cams of the same size, I rack them on top of each other (that is, I clip one into my gear loop, and then the second (or even third) into the first cam)--saves tons of space on the gear loops. I do rack all my stoppers on just two biners. Finally, I try to be more discriminating than I used to be as far as what I carry.
FWIW, I have a BD Momentum harness.
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tavs
Oct 17, 2006, 5:19 PM
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I have just never been able to get used to a gear sling (though I do use one occasionally for chimneys/etc)--just feels like it always moves around when I don't want it to, etc. So, some suggestions for if/when you do want to rack a substantial amount of gear on your harness.....I've never been in the habit of racking multiple cams on one biner (since more often than not I find myself clipping directly into the cam rather than needing to add a draw). But one trick I've learned for desert crack climbing--when carrying multiple cams of the same size, I rack them on top of each other (that is, I clip one into my gear loop, and then the second (or even third) into the first cam)--saves tons of space on the gear loops. I do rack all my stoppers on just two biners. Finally, I try to be more discriminating than I used to be as far as what I carry.
FWIW, I have a BD Momentum harness.
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bellaitalia
Oct 20, 2006, 6:55 PM
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Any suggestions about good comfortable harnesses with large gear loops? Right now, like Booger, I'm climbing in a Petzl Corax, which is definitely not meant for trad climbing.
I'm looking for comfort and room for LOTS OF GEAR!
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grampacharlie
Oct 20, 2006, 7:37 PM
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In reply to: Any suggestions about good comfortable harnesses with large gear loops? Right now, like Booger, I'm climbing in a Petzl Corax, which is definitely not meant for trad climbing. I'm looking for comfort and room for LOTS OF GEAR!
I know that this has been talked about several time in the past few months, both in the ladies' room and in other forums. A quick search should give you more than enough info, but I think the Misty Mountain cadillac was a much talked about option.
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anniemarea
Oct 22, 2006, 12:17 AM
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I agree we need a way to climb with gear that works, and harness improvement may just work. Maybe in association with a matching gear sling :wink:
Like another woman above, I use and old Chouinard gear sling, it's so old, but it fits. It's tiny, simple, and light. Sometimes I connect it to my harness by putting a carabiner or sling on my 2nd harness gear loop (either side) and attaching it to the sling in front of all the gear so that the gear can't slide in front of me.
Another thing I do, is wear a small camelbak (longer climbs) and attach gear to the shoulder straps or even the chest strap if I know I am gonna want that piece pronto.
Mostly I just put my slings on my harness and the gear on my sling, and I really try and minimize my gear - which sometimes I regret; but a stash of nuts on my backside can save the day - Ace. :lol:
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amylovesred
Nov 3, 2006, 5:33 PM
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In reply to: I connect it to my harness by putting a carabiner or sling on my 2nd harness gear loop (either side) and attaching it to the sling in front of all the gear so that the gear can't slide in front of me.
Super smart! I'm going to try it out next time I'm swinging leads. Could be a real time saver in the change over...
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boo
Nov 3, 2006, 6:24 PM
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I wear a Misty Mountain harness. Prior to that I wore a BD chaos. I liked it alot.
I like a gear sling if it is small enough. An old company Rocktonic made one that I can adjust snug enough.
Aliens....I rack them by the swag and not the webbing. Shortens them in length. I'm a minority in that I don't care for C4s for this reason..they fall too low on my harness and the plastic swag gets caught on stuff.
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